Honing machine



Oct. 6, 1942. A. FULMER 2,297,953

HONING MACHINE Filed Feb. 25, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

. Cbarlesfl.FuZme 2:

0a. 6, 1942. c. A. FULMER 2,297,953

' HONII IG MACHINE Filed Feb. 25, 1941 v 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 m ILIII INVENTOR Charles fli'ulmez Oct. 6, .1942 c. A. FULMER 2,297,953

HONING MACHINE Filed Feb. 25, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. Charles 19.1 20 in Q1:

Patented Oct. 6, 1942 UN [TE 1) STATES ENST O FF ICE;

HONING MACHINE Charles A. Fulmer, Fort Thomas Ky, Appli'cation'February 25, 1941; SeriaYNo. 380513;

6-".Claims.

The present'inventionflrelates .to improvements in.cylinder honing or'grinding machines and is particularly directed. to controlslforthis type of machine;

An object of the invention is. to provide a means. particularly adapted to vertical honing machines which will vconveniently position all the controls for.reciprocating;the tool-carryingpart forsaid machine within reach of an. operator occupying his usual station. beside the machine in proximity-to the work operated upon.

Another object of the invention .is toprovide a" means for disposing; the adjustable mechanism for'controlling the working. stroke and the.in-. operative position of the reciprocating tool-carrying, part of a honing machine in a place. onthe machine; accessible to the operator thereof. lo? cated at his machine station.

A still further object of the. invention is .to provide a simple and eflicient means of "reducing the time now required for performing. a. certain cylinder honing job and.to further. facilitate ad-. justing'the machine to operate on cylinders. of varying lengths.

Another object of the invention istoprovide a-means of. synchronizing. controls for a vertical honing machine with themovingtool-carrying part; said controls beingwlocatedadj'acent the tool of said machine;

Another object of "the'invention is to provide hydraulic meansfor actuatingf'the tool-carrying part controlled by my "novel synchronizing and adjustment mechanism having; the following noveliunctionsr therecip'rocating, tool may be positively stopped in any." desired position; the limit stops on 'an'oscillating'con'trol disk are positioned in individual planes'for' directly operating the control means for'the hydraulic operated tool-carrying part; and the tool. may beheld stationary infiany'position by a..counterbalance valve which will hydraulically equalize the weight of the reciprocated masslwhether themachine is operative or entirely shutdown...

Other objects of theinvention Will vbe apparent from the following specificatiorrand drawings; in which,

Fig. 1 is a fragmental front-elevation'alview of a honing machine fitted with :my control mech anism.

Fig. 2 is a fragmental side elevationalview of the machine shown in Fig. -1'.'

Fig. 3 is-.a;fron't:elevational view of the oscillating member comprising a-part'of the control mechanism.

Fig.4 isa' cross-sectionalview taken. on line 4-4 of Fig. 3."

Fig.5 iswan enlarged'detail plan viewof the control mechanismshownin Fig; 3 parts thereof being, brokenawayorshown' in cross-section.

Fig; 6 isa fragmental enlarged plan view of the intermediate stop for "my oscillating, member;

Fig.7 is an'enlarged cross-sectionalview taken on line 1-1 of Fig. 6.

Fig.8 is an en'larged"cross sectional..view taken on .line 8'-8 of Fig.6.

Fig. 9 is a diagrammatical view of the hydraulic system. employed in connection with my controls foractuating. the tool-carrying'p'art of a .honing machine;

The accompanying'drawin'gs illustrate the preferred form of my, invention; associated with a conventional honing. machine 'of the vertical type. The machine consists of a raised. platform. I 0 supported at its front edge by twospacedlegsl I andl2.'and:bya.rear'leg.l3; thelower: ends of said legs being: rigidly fastened to a base meme beril 4: Extending upwardly from the front central'portion of the. platform is. a conical housing l 53 in 1 which a rotating and reciprocatingpart, which 'takeszthe form; of. a splined. spindle I6, is positioned. The housing hasa web I! upon which is journalled" aibevel'gear;l8 having.a splined connection .with the. spindle Hi. The means for driving-,thebevel gear I8, thereby rotating.the spindle; comprises a' motor l9.for drivinga shaft 20 connected "to a bevel]! 'meshed' with. the bevel gear I 8. A variable speed; drive and .clutch mechanism 22"is-interposed between the shaft 20-and the motor for. rotatingthe spindle atany desirable speed .by' means tof .a'gear shift mechanism 23 mounted on the 'front'of. the machine at the operators station. (Fig; 1)'.. A honing tool 24 is fastened to the lower. end of the spindle by means of a .universal joint'25 and. is. disposed in axial alignment with .said spindle. The upper end of the spindle'is connected to a piston rod 26 by a'coupling 21 which permits rotation of .said spindlerelativetothe rod. The upper. end. of the piston rod is "connected to piston 28 which is adapted for reciprocation in a cylinder.29,.the latter being in' axial'alignment with therspindle and positioned on'ithehousing I 5. Reciprocation of the piston is accomplished within thecylinder bythe alternate introduction of fluid under pressure into the upper duct 30 'anduth'e lowerduct 3| communicating with the interior of the .cylinder ends.

Mechanism for controllingthe hydraulic means which actuates the 'spindle'by means of the piston arrangement described consists of a rack 32 rigidly connected at its lower end to the coupling 21 by an arm 33. The lower end of the rack is enclosed in the housing l while its upper part moves in a sleeve and guide 34, the upper end of said guide being fastened to the cylinder by a clamp 35. A pinion 36 is rigidly fastened to a stud shaft 31, the latter being rotatably mounted in spaced extensions 38 and 39 formed on the housing I5, said pinion being held thereon in engaging a bevel edge 69 on the disk to thereby position to engage the teeth formed in the rack 32. The free end of the stud shaft drives a pair of bevel gears 46 which are connected by means of a universal joint 4| to an elongated drive shaft 42. The lower end of the drive shaft rotates a pair of bevel gears 43 and 44 through a universal v joint 45. The gear 44 is adapted to actuate an oscillating member 46 which takes the form of a disk pinned to a shaft 41 which, in turn, is rigidly connected to the gear 44. The shaft is journalled in a sleeve 48 which is mounted on a leg ll of the machine frame by means of an arm 49 (Fig. 5). The bevel gear 43 is supported by means of a rotatable sleeve 50 having an extension 5| through which its stud shaft 52 extends and is rotatabl mounted. It will therefore be understood that the rectilinear reciprocating motion of the tool-carrying spindle is translated into oscillating circular motion of the member 46 through the mechanism described, the gear ratio of the mechanism being such that one stroke of the spindle will produce one oscillation of the member 46.

The oscillating member, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, is positioned at the operator's station and has adjustably positioned thereon an upper limit stop 53, a lower limit stop 54, and an intermediate stop 55 which predetermine the working cycle of the tool-carrying part and also its upper inoperative position.

The upper limit stop 53 has an extended portion 56 (Figs. 3, 4 and 5) which projects beyond the periphery of the disk and also forwardly into a parallel plane outside the plane of the disk. The extended portion 56 is adapted to engage a finger 51 for operating a locking valve 58. This valve automatically controls the hydraulic means for holding the piston in its uppermost inoperative position. In this position the honing tool may be outside and above the work being operated upon depending 'upon the relative location of the stop 53 on the disk. The upper limit stop 56 is positioned on the disk by means of a bolt 59 having the head thereof engaged in an annular T-slot 60 formed in the disk, the stop being held in a radial position relative to said disk by means of a pin 6| fastened to the stop and extending into said slot. Adjustment of the stop may be had by loosening the bolt 59 and moving it to the desired position in the slot. The lower limit stop 54 is radially held in position on the disk in a manner similar to the means for holding the upper limit stop in position, said lower limit stop having an extension 62 extending from the periphery of the disk and in a plane adapted to engage a finger 63. As shown in Fig. 5, the finger 63 is adapted to actuate a pilot valve 64 for reversing the tool-carrying part of the machine from a downward direction to an upward one at its lower limit of travel. The intermediate stop 55, as shown in Figs. 6, '7 and 8, having an extension 65 thereon for engaging a finger 66 on the pilot valve, is rotatable from an operative to an inoperative position. This stop comprises a plate 61 having a down-turned portion 68 for hold the plate in a radial position regardless of its adjusted peripheral position. The plate has an upstanding annular portion 10 thereon for rotatably receiving the extension 65 which has an integral lever portion 668 attached thereto, said lever being provided at its outer end with a handle H. The plate and stop are adjustably mounted on the disk by means of a bolt 12, the head thereof being positioned in the T-slot 60 and the nut 13 therefor being adapted when tightened to hold a washer 14 against the portion 16 to rotatably hold the stop relative to the plate. A ball detent 15, when registered with two spaced holes 16 in the plate, is adapted to hold the stop in an operative or an inoperative position. A pin 11 (Figs. 6 and 8) is positioned on the plate to engage the lever 660 and hold the stop in operative position to engage the finger 66 on the pilot valve. As shown in Fig. 5, the pilot valve may also be operated manually by means of a hand lever 18. As clearly shown in Fig. 5, the two fingers for controlling the pilot valve and the finger for operating the locking valve are in different planes and are adapted for engagement with their respective limit stops and the intermediate stop on the disk when the latter member is oscillated. The positions of the lower limit stop 54 and the intermediate stop 55 are adapted to determine the upper and lower limits of motion of the tool-carrying part during its reciprocating working motion, said stops being adapted to operate the pilot valve 64 to reverse the hydraulically controlled piston fastened to said part. When the intermediate stop is moved to inoperative position with its extension 65 within the periphery of the disk so that said extension will not engage the finger 66 on the pilot valve, the hydraulic means will continue to move the tool-carrying part upwardly until the disk has been rotated to bring the upper limit stop 53 into engagement with the finger 51 which will automatically stop the part in its upper in-- operative position.

The valve means or system for controlling the hydraulic means is shown diagrammatically in Fig. 9 and consists of a pump driven by a motor 8| for creating the necessary fluid pressure for the system. The pump has a conventional spring-loaded valve therein which returns fluid to the sump tank 82 when the pressure in the main line 83 exceeds a definite maximum pressure. Interposed in the main line 83 is a manually operated volume control valve 84 for maintaining any desired volume in the system between the maximum pump capacity and zero. The piston 28 is reciprocated within the cylinder 29 by alternately introducing fluid under pressure into the branch pressure line 85 communicating with the upper duct 30 in the cylinder and the branch pressure line 86 connected to thelower duct 3| which is the cylinder side through which the piston rod 26 passes. The branch lines are alternately and simultaneously pressure and drain lines for the pressure-transmitting medium, it being understood that when branch line 86 is introducing fluid under pressure to the lower end of the cylinder, branch line 85 will be draining fluid to the sump tank and vice versa.

The means for alternately introducing pressure fluid to either side of the cylinder to reciptioned aon the honingmachinezattthe operator s station andLhaving"theeo'scillatingidiskfl8' mount! edi' thereon: (Fig; 1) .1 By tUIIIiIIgILthB'LDiIOl'IL valve 64 either manually "by lever: 1815 (Fig. .5) or auto matically by'meansi of StODSEiOIIJ the disk which engage.fingers3for-66the:directionzcontroltvalve may be reversed, .thusmeversingathe: direction: of the piston 28. i As :showniiirFig: 9., thei-pilot'valve is in position to: admit fluidzcpressure from the main pressure line :83 to the right "handisideiof cylinder 89 through linez9fli When the .pilot valve is moved '90", wpressurez'fluid fIOmLthB'i main line 83 will be admitted to the 'left'sideof the-cylinder 89 byline 9|, thustmoving; thezpiston 92::toxthe right: It will be-noted :that? when linew99. is car; rying-pressure fluid toithe: directiom control.;valve; line :91- is draining fluidto :the rsumpiztankt 2": and vice versa; Thenpiston 92;has; two; reduced :por= tions 93;and 94ltherein which :actias passageways for-the :portswith which they are-aligned; 4 Thus Fig; 9" the portion 293 has opened. the: main pressure-line 83- to branch?line:86i to introduce pressure tothe" lower side of the :cylinder:2'9 while portion 94 has opened the-drain line 95 toihranch line 851- W'hen the piston 92zis-in the *rightzside of the cylinder 89, portion 93 opens branchzline 88 to "auxiliary line 96 of drain line;95 while portion- 94 opens branch line 8 to auxiliary;line .91 communicating withtmain :pressure :line 83; .thus changing branchline:85 from .a: drain to a:prese surelineT-and branch-line 85' fromna' pressure'zline to a drainline;

The means for equalizing therspeed; ofsthe" pis ton-28 in either its :upward or *downward ldire'c tion is: similar to the :apparatusiin: my':co=-pend=- ing application Serial No; 428,910 'andlconsistsxof aproportioning valve 98 which is; adjusted: to constantly bleeda certain volumelof'fiuidzirom branch line 88 into; drain? line: 991'wheni pressure fluid: is being; introduced" by him: 86: into: the

lower part of cylinder 29',ythrough whichzrpiston rod 26': passes. The adjustment; means: 190-: on the 1 proportioning valve: is connected: b'yl'lin'k I M to the adjustment means I82 on .thesmain' con"- trol valve. 84 so that under.'varyingz'speedsiof the piston 28 madeiby: adjustingavalve184, the proportioning valve willibleediofi enough volume of fluid to equalize th'elpiston motion under all speeds of piston travel.

The means for stopping the piston 28 in its upper inoperative position consists of the locking valve 58 having a finger 51 which is actuated by the upper limit stop 53 on the oscillating disk 46. As shown in Fig. 9, the locking valve has a piston I83 therein which is spring-urged to open position thereby permitting flow of fluid in either direction through branch line 85. When the operator wishes to place the tool-carrying part in upper inoperative position while the machine is operating within its working cycle, determined by the lower limit stop 54 and the intermediate stop 55, it is only necessary to turn the intermediate stop to inoperative position and the upper limit stop will be brought into engagement with the finger 51 to depress it thus closing the line 85. This precludes further draining of oil from the pipe and upper portion of the cylinder 29. As pressure fluid continues to be introduced at the bottom of the cylinder 29 a head of pressure will be built up in the upper part of the cylinder and in the line 85 between the locking valve and port 39 and also in the lower part of the cylinder which is equal to the maximum pressure at which the control valve 84 has been set to deliver fluid to the system and-thereafter, the-piston 28 will b'e held rigid until: the; pilot valve manually actuated for the L-cnex't operation- 011 the-work; When the pilot valve is manually actuated to theposition to moverthe pistom 28 downwardly (the reverse position to that illustratedin Fig. 99 theline 86 will-drain fl'uid from the lower end of the cylinden, which I had built up therein a I head or pressure equal to the maximum pressure for-the systems Therelease= of 'this pressure fluid unbal-ances- -the pressure on' thecylinden and permitsthe head 1 of pressure in the upper part 'of th'e cylinder to move said piston downwardly: a distance sufiicient to permit a slight rotation of the control di'sk which moves -th'e limit stop 53-: off the finger 51 thereby" permittingfluid pressure to enter the top of the cylinder through line i to' continue the downward-motion of said pistonto its -work'ing 'cyclei It will" benoted that the motors I 9 i and: 8 continue a running while the reciprocating tool is in its upper in operative 1, position and' in the event complete shutdown of thermachine'is's desired electric cii cuit's to-said motors may beopenedi A counter balance valve l 04 int'erposed' in line-86 w-ill then hold suflicien't fluid pressureinthe lower" part of cylinder 29 to sustain the weight of th'ezreciprocatedmass:

A means for holding the reciprocated -part-of the machine and its associated parts-in equilibrium regardless of the posi-tion' at which said p'arts come: to restconsistse' of a counterbalance valve-184 interposed in the lower cylinder-branch line 86 The valve' hasa passageway 185 there'- through in which a: plunger I llfi' is seatedj' said plunger having enlarged disk-like heads of un+ equal diameter (Fig; 9'); The. upper head'of the plunger has the"greatest diameter sothatpressure fluid' in' line 86 williunseat-the plii-ngerand allow said fluid to enter the cylinder 291 The plun'ger isliurged to seated'position by springl 8! which can-beadjustablycompressed by threaded boss I 98;: The pressure exerted a by said T spring should' he just'great'enough to retain fluid in -the lower side of i the cylinder when branch line 86 act'sas aldrain-line, thus sustaining the reciprocat'edmassinequilibrium;

What is claimed is 1. In a honing machine having a rotating and reciprocating spindle connected at its lower end to an axially disposed tool and rotatable at its upper end in a coupling connecting it to an hydraulic means, the combination of a valve means for controlling the hydraulic means, an oscillating disk mounted adjacent the valve means, stops on the disk for directly engaging the valve means, a rack fastened to the coupling, a pinion meshed with the rack, an elongated drive shaft, a geared connection between the pinion and the shaft, and a geared connection between the lower end of the shaft and the oscillating disk.

2. In a honing machine having a rotating and reciprocating spindle connected at its lower end to an axially disposed tool, and connected at its upper end to an hydraulic means, the combination of a valve means for controlling the hydraulic means and comprising a pilot valve for reversing the direction of travel of the spindle during its working cycle, and a limit valve for locking the spindle in its upper inoperative position, arms for the valve means disposed in different parallel planes, an oscillating disk mounted adjacent the valve means, a circular guideway for the member positioned concentrically with its axis, a number of stops adjustably mounted in the guideway and each extending into the plane of one of the arms to engage it at a predetermined position of the oscillating member, means for rotatably mounting one of said stops for manually moving it to operative or inoperative positions relative to the valve means, and means associated with the spindle for oscillating the disk.

3. In a honing machine having a rotating and reciprocating spindle connected at its lower end to an axially disposed tool and connected at its upper end to an hydraulic means in axial alignment therewith, the combination of a valve means for controlling the hydraulic means, arms for the valve means disposed in different parallel planes, an oscillating member mounted adjacent the valve means, a circular guideway for the member positioned concentrically with its axis, a number of stops adjustably mounted in the guideway, each stop extending into the plane of one of the arms controlling the valve'means and each stop adapted to engage one of I said arms at a predetermined position of the oscillating member, means for rotatably mounting one of said stops for moving it to operative or inoperative positions relative to the valve means, and means associated with the spindle for oscillating the member.

4. In a honing machine the combination of a base having a raised platform supported by elongated legs, a housing upon the base, a rotating and vertically reciprocating spindle movable within the housing and having its lower extremity depending below the platform, an axially disposed tool connected to the lower end of the spindle, a coupling device at the upper end of the spindle, an hydraulic cylinder mounted upon the housing in axial alignment with the spindle, a piston movable in the cylinder, a piston rod fastened to the piston and extending into the housing and having a driving connection with the coupling, a rack in parallelism with the cylinder and mounted at its lower end to the coupling, said rack extending upwardly through an aperture formed in the housing, a sleeve positioned on the housing and adapted to enclose the rack, an elongated drive shaft, a pinion meshed with the rack, a geared connection between the upper end of the shaft and the pinion, an hydraulic system communicating with both ends of the cylinder, an oscillating control member for the system and adapted to alternately introduce pressure fluid into the ends of the cylinder, and

a geared connection between the lower end of the shaft and the oscillating member.

5. In a honing machine the combination of a vertically reciprocating and a rotating tool actuating means, an'hydraulic'cylinder connected with said means, an hydraulic system communicating with the upper and lower ends of the cylinder, an oscillating disk having a geared connection with said means, a pilot valve in the system and positioned adjacent the periphery of the disk, stops on the disk for actuating the pilot valve to alternately introduce pressure fluid into the upper and lower ends of the cylinder during the working'cycle of the means, an upper limit valve in the system mounted adjacent the periphery of the disk and adapted on actuation to close the upper end of the cylinder while pressure fluid is being introduced in the lower end thereof and a stop on the disk for actuating the limit valve.

6. In a honing machine the combination of a reciprocating and rotating spindle, an axially disposed tool connected to the lower end of the spindle, a vertical cylinder positioned coaxially above the spindle, a piston in the cylinder, 8. rod connecting the piston to the spindle, an hydraulic system communicating with the upper and lower ends of the cylinder, an oscillating disk having a driving connection with the spindle, a pilot valve in the system disposed adjacent the periphery of the disk and adapted upon actuation to alternately introduce pressure fluid to the ends of the cylinder and reciprocate the tooLduring its working cycle, a pair of stops on the disk for actuating the pilot valve, an upper limit valve interposed in the system and positioned adjacent the periphery of the disk and adapted upon actuation to close the upper end of the cylinder while pressure fluid is being introduced to the lower end thereof by the pilot valve, and a stop on the disk for engaging the limit valve.

CHARLES A. FULMER. 

